1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a grill cooker and a multipurpose cooking apparatus having the grill cooker and, more particularly, to a grill cooker that allows a grilling unit to be easily and efficiently cooled, thus preventing food from sticking to the grilling unit, and to a multipurpose cooking apparatus having the grill cooker.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, meat, such as beef and pork, and processed meat, such as sausages, taste best when cooked by a grilling method in which heat is directly applied to the meat or processed meat placed on a grill. Thus, grilling has been more preferably used, in comparison with other cooking techniques.
A conventional grill cooker to cook food by grilling includes a heating unit and a grilling unit. The heating unit is set in a cabinet of the grill cooker to directly apply heat to the food. The food is placed on the grilling unit to be cooked by the heating unit. Thus, heat generated from the heating unit is transmitted to the food placed on the grilling unit, thus cooking the food.
When a user desires to grill meat, such as beef, pork, and mutton, the meat is cut into small pieces. Next, the meat pieces are seasoned with sauces of several flavors. Thereafter, the seasoned meat pieces are placed on the grilling unit to be grilled. When the seasoned meat pieces are grilled, grease runs from the seasoned meat pieces. The grease is mixed with the sauces, and then is burned by the heat transmitted from the heating unit to the grilling unit, resulting in scorching parts of the meat pieces. Further, the meat pieces may stick to the grilling unit.
The scorched food is unhealthy. When the food sticks to the grilling unit, it is difficult to remove the food from the grilling unit. Thus, the grill unit must be frequently replaced with a new grill unit, thus causing inconvenience to a user. Further, it is very difficult to clean the grilling unit after use.
When the food is scorched, smoke is produced. Thus, an exhaust device, such as an exhaust fan and an exhaust duct, is required to provide a pleasant cooking environment.
The grilling unit may be cooled using water to prevent the food from sticking to the grilling unit. However, several devices, including a circulation pump, a water tank, and a cooling unit to cool the water tank, are required to cool the grilling unit by water cooling. Thus, the grill cooker inevitably has a complicated structure and a large size. Further, after grilling the food, water containing grease and sauces must be replaced with clean water, and several devices to cool the grilling unit must be cleaned, thus causing inconvenience to the user.
Further, it is difficult to install the grill cooker having the complicated structure as described above in a multipurpose cooking apparatus having several cookers.